How do you start to get prepared?

Part 2
I use a couple of software programs to help me while I inventoried my home. These programs are setup to help people prepping. Also, these programs will help me stay organized and help me with rotation of items with expiration dates.
My ICE Plan is a home inventory software – Family and Disaster Planning. It features:
(from: http://www.myiceplan.com/index.html)

• Create two plans - Plan A & Plan B (print medical cards, keep images and movies of docs, much more! )
• Create a main and alternate emergency plan for pets and other livestock.
• Create emergency kit(s) & maintain its contents.
• My ICE Plan will tell you when kit items need replacing.
• My ICE Plan also contains links to many disaster agencies in the U.S. and Canada. Add to the list with your own data.
• Create a "call list" of important contacts including photos of contact!
• Import your Outlook/Outlook Express contacts.
• Print All Option...one button prints every thing is the system!
• Use a home inventory to help you pack and track items
• Easily move items in the database from location to location.
• Get a better price from moving companies because you have a good record of what needs to be moved.
• Get a more precise coverage for insurance.

Food Storage Planner is a food storage and menu planning software. It features:
(from: http://www.foodstorageplanner.com/fsp.html)

• Calculates exactly what you need for your family's food and equipment storage. Fully customizable for specific individual needs, gender, and age, such as diapers, allergies, toiletries, etc.
• Plan for any time period. Start with 1 week, then 2 months, 6 months, and so forth.
• More than 250 recipes to cook with your storage. Add your own.
• Link recipe ingredients to items in your pantry so you know what you can fix for dinner based upon your storage.
• Pantry List. This report tracks your inventory of what you have and how much is left to buy.
• Rotation. Enter purchases as you go along and this report tracks expiration dates to keep your storage rotated and fresh.
• Export, Import, do intelligent searches, and print custom reports.
• Label Printer. Print labels to place on your stored goods for rotation.

Overall these two programs are already setup and are inexpensive.
If you want to go the free route you could use OpenOffice Suite.  OpenOffice Suite is for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, and databases. It can be downloaded and used completely free of charge for any purpose. However, it will take you more time to make and create the features of the two programs I mentioned above.